Explore, Harvest, Snail Patrol

Sydney Lawson, Taylor Burbach, and Brad Winckelmann explore the coast and Van Damme State Park.

Taylor Burbach and Sydney Lawson, along with the rest of the team (not pictured), start the work by harvesting lettuce at Noyo Food Forest.

Snails, which are detrimental to the health of the plants at Noyo Food Forest, are collected and disposed of  by members of Blue 4 whenever found.

Common Ground Haikus

While pulling ice plant,
it was Mike v. Carolyn.
Eat bugs for Starbucks.

Lizards, snails, and newts.
While building split rail fences,
We met the locals.

Working on the coast,
We watched for grey whales spouting.
Whale! Whale! Just kidding.

Working with California State Parks

Sarah Gadomski stencils "DPR" (Department of Parks and Recreation) on tables in a building in Russian Gulch State Park near Mendocino, CA. California State Parks recently acquired multiple tables and chairs and assigned us to "brand" them using black paint.

Unopened boxes of tables and chairs purchased by Cal State Parks.

Alyssa Pun stencils "DPR" on a number of chairs. 

In another assignment from Cal State Parks, NCCC Corps Members repaired old fencing in Van Damme State Park, just south of Mendocino, CA. The fencing was installed around campsites in the state parks and by the park's entrance in the 1940s and 1950s. The wood used was from old growth redwoods that were cut down earlier in the century. The fences had deteriorated over time and to repair them, we used other old growth redwoods posts that had been sitting around since the mid 1900s. The wood is naturally resilient to weathering, making it a choice wood for fencing.

NCCC Corps Members continue to repair redwood fencing in Van Damme State Park.

Ice Plant

During our first week working with California State Parks, we were charged with removing ice plant from the coastal areas of Glass Beach. A native from South Africa, ice plant was brought to the California coast around 1900 to stabilize soil along railroad tracks and for general erosion control. An aggressive invasive, ice plant competes with endangered northern California flora. Here, NCCC Corps Members pull the plant and toss it on a tarp to be removed.

Ice plant | Carpobrotus edulis

Alyssa Pun removes ice plant from the Glass Beach coast near Fort Bragg, CA.

Fort Bragg and the North Coast

(Click and drag to rotate 360 degrees.) We arrived early to Fort Bragg, CA and used the extra time to explore the area. This panorama is near the estuary where Pudding Creek meets the Pacific Ocean.

Michael Green stands by the rugged Russian Gulch State Park coast at dusk near Mendocino, CA.

NCCC Corps Members were given a splendid work location this third round of service. Team Blue Four will be spending the next eight weeks in Fort Bragg working with the California State Parks District Office in Russian Gulch and with the Noyo Food Forest.